Hannity Defends Zacharia’s First Performance As Press Secretary
Fox News host Sean Hannity criticized what he described as hostile media coverage of new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, arguing that outlets had treated former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre differently.
On Tuesday’s program, Hannity played a clip of Zacharia’s first press briefing and contrasted the reaction to her performance with Jean-Pierre’s tenure in the Biden administration. He argued that the media had given Jean-Pierre a “pass” for four years.
“All right. A perfectly normal question and answer,” Hannity began.
“But most of the so-called journalists, and I say so-called because that’s what I mean, we have an abusively biased, corrupt news media in this country, the legacy media mob, as I affectionately refer to them, they are not interested in real questions and real answers,” Hannity added.
“They are out for blood. Zacharia has been mocked, she’s been attacked over her appearance, her hair, the way she spoke,” he continued.
“They questioned her intelligence, her credentials, they even asked about her bar exam. Could you imagine the press asking similar questions to Karine Jean-Pierre, asking about her background, her record?” Hannity added.
“With Zacharia, the blowback was immediate, it was nasty. And all of this from a group of people that claim to champion women in the workplace,” he said.
Zacharia opened Tuesday’s briefing by expressing gratitude for the appointment and her opportunity to serve the president and the public.
“Good morning. I am so honored to work for President Trump and the American people as the new White House press secretary. I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me,” Zacharia said.
“I have wanted to work for him for a very long time. I am looking forward to working with each of you as well, especially as we are in the middle of the midterm blitz with energy and excitement never seen before in the history of midterms thanks to President Trump,” Zacharia added.
“President Trump delivers on every promise,” she exclaimed.
Asked about the midterm elections and the president’s campaign schedule, Zacharia said, “President Trump delivered another blockbuster rally…the arena was filled with enthusiasm,”
Zacharia also announced that the Trump administration had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign following allegations of improper conduct.
“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her luck,” Zacharia said.
President Trump had previously announced on Truth Social that Zacharia would become White House press secretary, describing her as a loyal supporter and expressing confidence she would work well with the press and his administration.
She succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who left the White House at the end of August after the birth of her second child. Leavitt said she wanted to focus on her family. She had been the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary.
Zacharia brings experience in conservative media and administration communications to the high-profile role. She has also served as a senior communications adviser for Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates Truth Social.